


Restart

by alleyesonthehindenburg



Series: Time For a New Plan [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Qui-Gon Lives, Sith Apprentice Ahsoka, Sith Obi-Wan, but the space family is real, not sure what the ships are gonna be for this one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-10 01:46:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6932920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleyesonthehindenburg/pseuds/alleyesonthehindenburg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jedi across the galaxy are already on high alert. Rumours have reached the Republic that Asajj Ventress has been assigned to hunt down and kill Sith turncoats, a Master and his apprentice. With no resources to spare, the Jedi Council can only hope to stumble across these valuable potential allies before the Separatists do...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Restart is (hopefully) the first in a series of fics focusing on the CW trio. This one is going to be following the events of the movie, but with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka as Sith gone AWOL. The timeline's a bit different in my head – Obi-Wan's about 30, and Ahsoka's about 15; I think everyone else is the same as in canon.
> 
> If anyone's willing to beta for future chapters, or just wants to chat, check the notes at the end for my tumblr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the dialogue in this first chapter is transcript from The Clone Wars, so I can't take credit for that; enjoy!

_A galaxy divided. Striking swiftly after the battle of Geonosis, Count Dooku’s droid army has seized control of the major hyperspace lanes, separating the Republic from the majority of its clone army. With few clones available, the Jedi generals cannot gain a foothold in the Outer Rim as more and more planets choose to join Dooku’s Separatists._

_While the Jedi are occupied fighting a war, no one is left to keep the peace. Chaos and crime spread, and the innocent become victims in a lawless galaxy. Crime lord Jabba the Hutt’s son has been kidnapped by a rival band of pirates. Desperate to save his son, Jabba put out a call for help, a call the Jedi are cautious to answer._

_But Jedi across the galaxy are already on high alert. Rumours have reached the Republic that Asajj Ventress has been assigned to hunt down and kill Sith turncoats, a Master and his apprentice. With no resources to spare, the Jedi Council can only hope to stumble across these valuable potential allies before the Separatists do..._

* * *

“Jabba requests that anyone who can help us find his kidnapped son,” the protocol droid said, “send any information they have immediately.”

“We must help Jabba.” Chancellor Palpatine spoke even before the holocomm flickered out, much to Windu’s displeasure. A slight shift in the Force told him that Luminara and Plo Koon shared his sentiments. “This is the opportunity we’ve been looking for. The Jedi must rescue Jabba’s son.”

Windu shook his head. “I don’t like it, dealing with that criminal scum. This is a dark day for the Republic.”

“I agree, my friend, but what choice do we have?” The Chancellor straightened, hands drawing together as if he were addressing the Senate. “The Hutts control the Outer Rim and we'll need their space lanes in order to move our troops.”

“There is more to this kidnapping than it seems.”

“Then you must send as many Jedi as you can.”

“Impossible, Chancellor,” Windu said, studiously masking the urgency he felt. “The droid General Grievous has our forces spread thin. The only Jedi we can spare is Skywalker. He just captured the planet Christophsis.”

“Then contact him immediately,” the Chancellor said, and Windu resisted the urge to sigh. Heavily.

“Chancellor, my intention was for Skywalker to pursue Ventress as soon as he had Christophsis. If we can get these Sith to join us, we could end this war before it gets any worse.”

“That’s assuming these Sith have any interest in aiding us,” the Chancellor replied, clearly prepared for this argument. “I would much rather expend our resources in securing Jabba’s aid. Better the evil we know than the one we don’t.”

It still didn’t sit right with Windu, but the Hutt’s son only had so much time. Reluctantly, he nodded. “I’ll contact Skywalker right away.”

* * *

On board the _Resolute_ , one of the clones called for Admiral Yularen’s attention. “Comm for you, sir,” he said, saluting.

 _Never a moment’s rest_ , Yularen thought, sighing internally as he recognised the blue-cast figures of Masters Yoda and Windu.

“We need to make contact with General Skywalker,” the latter said, as soon as Yularen unmuted the comm.

 _Good day to you too, General_. “We’ve been unable to reach him. It could be a solar storm, or they're rebooting their communication system. I'm sure the blackout is temporary.”

“Important orders, we have, for General Skywalker.”

“See to it that we can get in touch with Skywalker as soon as possible,” Windu added.

 _Revolutionary. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me_. “Yes sir, as soon as we load relief supplies,” Yularen said.

“No time, there is. Immediately, we must speak with Skywalker.”

A flash of anger rose in Yularen but he rode it out, swallowing the biting response he so wanted to give. They were fighting a war, here; whatever message the Council had for his General couldn’t be as important as sending supplies to their battle-weary troopers. But Yularen kept his expression carefully controlled, and fell in line like a good soldier. “I understand, sir. I will personally take an unloaded ship to meet with the general, then return to pick up my reinforcements.”

* * *

“ _Go, go, go, go, go_!”

“They’re back!”

“Battle positions!”

“ _Incoming_!”

It wasn’t long after the first wave of droids appeared that they began to retreat. “They’re pulling back,” Rex said. Cheers erupted amongst the clones as a support ship flew by overhead, coming in for a landing just around the block.

“Looks like help has arrived.” Anakin deactivated his lightsaber, casting another wary glance at the retreating Seppies as R2 squealed and beeped nearby. No way would they give up that easy; he would be glad to have Yularen’s reinforcements.

“The cruiser must be back.”

“Then it looks like our problems are solved.”

“I hate it when you say that, sir.”

Anakin laughed, clapping Rex on the back, only for his face to fall when he saw Yularen exiting the shuttle, alone and empty-handed. “Admiral,” he called, “not that I don’t enjoy seeing your cheerful face, but where are our supplies?”

“My apologies, General Skywalker. The Jedi Council has insisted that you contact them immediately,” Yularen said. Anakin always found it amusing how the Admiral could convey so much pissiness in so few words.

“Well, we’re a bit busy here.” Anakin swept out an arm, gesturing at the battlefield around them. “Maybe if they’d like to do something helpful…”

“Apologies, sir. But the Council insisted it was of the utmost urgency. Perhaps you can relay a signal through the cruiser that just dropped me off.”

“Then, let’s see if we can get this over with and get back to winning a war,” Anakin quipped, clapping Yularen on the shoulder and moving past him to the holotable.

It wasn’t that Anakin didn’t _respect_ the Council, per se; he just didn’t think they understood the realities of war, spending most of their time tucked safely away in the temple on Coruscant. They didn’t understand that everything, even the Jedi Code, fell by the wayside in the heat of battle. Of course, it didn’t help that most of the time Anakin was in front of the Council, he was being reprimanded, or at least watching as his former master was. Qui-Gon was never fazed, but it got on Anakin’s nerves.

Still, Anakin put on his poker face as Master Yoda’s image flickered to life. “Knight Skywalker, glad the Admiral found you, I am.”

“Master Yoda, we’re trapped here on Christophsis, and the Separatists outnumber us ten to one,” Anakin said, wasting no time with formalities. “We’re in no position to leave right now. All of our support ships have been destroyed.”

“Send reinforcements to you, we will. We’re – “ The holoimage shook, the diminutive Jedi’s voice scrambled. “Danger – “

The image blinked out of existence, and Anakin cursed. “Well that was a useful conversation.”

Rex stood by, his helmet tucked under one arm. “Any new orders, sir?”

“No. Make sure the men are ready. Those droids are gonna come back eventually, and we need to hold on until our reinforcements get here.” As Rex turned away – still, somehow, looking perfectly awake and borderline leisurely – Anakin turned back to Yularen. “Now, Admiral, I have to assume you didn’t come all this way just to relay a signal through a shuttle.”

“Indeed not, sir.” The Admiral punched a few characters into the console, and the image of a Fanblade starfighter appeared, rotating above the holotable. “About an hour ago our scanners on board the _Resolute_ identified this ship moving past the Separatist fleet. It landed on the far side of the Capital, a few kilometres north of here.”

“Ventress.”

“We think so, sir.”

Anakin nodded, watching the hologram spin with a far-off look. Something had been tugging at his thoughts since he arrived on Christophsis, but he’d disregarded it, focusing on the battle. Now, he opened his mind to the Force, reaching out to the city around him. Almost immediately he found what he was looking for – Ventress’ signature, dark and angry and familiar, but another one beyond that. Smaller, less controlled, tinged with fear, but unmistakably dark.

“Get back to the _Resolute_ and get me those reinforcements,” Anakin said, urgency and satisfaction warring in his voice. “We’ve found our Sith apprentice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to scream about Star Wars with me: http://all-eyes-on-the-hindenburg.tumblr.com/
> 
> Also, notes:
> 
> – It bothers me how, in the movie, Palpatine speaks before Jabba’s holocomm ends. I don’t know if it was a live feed, but if it was, then it was stupid for Palpatine to be that hasty. If Jabba heard that, he would have expected the Jedi to send help regardless of what the Council ultimately decided, and failure to do so would have angered him and risked their chances at an alliance with him. Of course, I’m sure that’s what Palpatine intended (evil Sith lord and all that) but still.
> 
> – And, please. I get that it’s important to secure the alliance with Jabba, but they’re fighting a much more immediate battle on Christophsis. Forcing Yularen to send a cruiser without loading it up with supplies and reinforcements first was unwise.
> 
> – Yularen just strikes me as the sassiest fucker in the goddamn galaxy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is wayyyyy late, but life happened a lot last year. Hopefully I'll be able to update more often? But ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> This chapter diverges more from the movie than the last one, but it's still pretty close. More will change the farther along it gets. And thanks to everyone who left comments! You guys are great.

Breaking out of hyperspace above Christophsis and into the remnants of a Separatist blockade had been a shock, to say the least. Ahsoka had narrowly avoided slamming into a battleship, thanking the Force that the Republic fighters had been occupying its attention. A quick jerk of the controls (she could practically hear her master scolding her; _spinning is not flying_ , he would say) and she was out of the battle zone.

It would make the most sense for her to fly away; jump back into hyperspace and find a less battle-ridden planet. Tatooine, maybe. But she hesitated. The Republic was hardly better than the Separatists – worse, actually, because at least the Confederacy had some idea who they were in bed with – but the Jedi prided themselves on their mercy. At the very least, they could protect Ahsoka long enough for her to gather her wits about her.

“Keep them off our tail, Goldie, we’re going in,” she said. The astromech droid beeped an affirmative, and she began the descent into the atmosphere, keeping an eye out for enemies.

From a distance the damage to the capital city didn’t seem so bad, but as she got closer she could see the signs of the fierce battle that had been fought. The streets were littered with the corpses of battle droids and clone troopers alike. Crystalline skyscrapers were marred with dents and scars after countless explosions, and if she squinted she could just make out the shapes of evacuees, scrambling over the debris in the outer edges of the city.

“Looks like we missed all the fun, Goldie.” Ahsoka scanned the streets, finally catching sight of a clone battalion – and steering in the opposite direction. At Goldie’s questioning whine, she said, “If we come in from above they’ll just shoot us down, especially if their Jedi commander senses me. We’ll have to approach by foot.”

After a quick flyby over a city block, she touched down, making sure there were no valuables left in the ship before she hopped out of the cockpit. With any luck, she wouldn’t be seeing it again.

Goldie rolled to her side, and she put her pack down, instructing it to start recording a hologram. “This message is for the Jedi commander in charge of the Republic forces on Christophsis. My name is Barrage,” she said, using the false name she and her master had agreed upon. “I am a former Sith apprentice. My master and I have left the Sith Order, and we are on the run from the Confederacy. I have run out of supplies…” She faltered, looking down. _What the kriff do I say?_ “I have nowhere else to turn to. If the Jedi are anywhere near as compassionate as you claim to be, please, contact me with this R3 unit.”

With a sigh, she pat Goldie on its head. “I guess that’ll have to do. Just play that first part for the first clones you see, okay?”

Goldie nudged her, almost throwing her off balance, and began rolling down the street. Ahsoka picked up her pack and scanned the buildings around her, looking for a good vantage point. “Gods, I wish Master Cyffre was here,” she muttered. “But hey, great! Now I’m talking to myself.”

She Force-jumped up to a balcony, settling down just behind a pillar, so that she was hidden from the street below. A quick check confirmed that there were no sentients nearby, and Ahsoka sighed, trying to settle down. “Now I get to hurry up and wait. Exciting.”

Despite her exhaustion, she stayed awake; napping could be fatal, and the balcony floor was uncomfortable anyway. A quick inspection reaffirmed what she already knew – her Force-bond with her master was shut tight, allowing nothing to cross through from either side. She sighed, listening to the frozen warzone around her, and waited.

* * *

 It was a kriffing miracle the droid hadn’t been blown up. Jester nearly did it, drawing his weapon as soon as he realised it wasn’t General Skywalker’s trusty R2 unit. But Rex cut him off before he could fire, levelling his own blaster at the astromech and ordering it to stop.

It did immediately, still several metres away, and projected a hologram on the street in front of it. “This message is for the Jedi commander in charge of the Republic forces on Christophsis,” the figure said, the hologram cutting out and repeating. Rex held up a hand for his men to remain still and came closer, squinting at the hologram. It was a Togruta, he realised – young, too, judging by the pitch of her voice and her hesitance as she spoke.

“Should we blast it to bits, Captain?”

Rex glanced back at Sketch, acknowledging the question, and down at the hologram again. This time the droid played another line – “My name is Barrage” – and he noticed the lightsabers at her waist.

“We’ll take it to the General,” Rex said, turning back to his men. The droid beeped, cutting off the hologram as it rolled forward, and the Captain added, “Keep your blaster on it, Sketch.”

“You know who that girl is, sir?” Chopper tipped his head at the droid, stoically keeping his eyes forward. He’d been cautious around Rex ever since the incident with Slick, even though the General had let him off with just a warning about the clanker trophies.

“Not a clue,” Rex said. It wasn’t quite a lie – he didn’t know a thing about her, only suspected. But if she was one of the runaway Sith, Skywalker would want to be informed immediately.

They were halfway back to the makeshift base when a high-pitched whine echoed across the city. _Energy shield_ , Rex realised, picking up the pace.

_That’s going to make things damn near impossible._

* * *

 Rex arrived a half hour after the energy shield went up, sending his men off to receive orders as he approached the general. “The cannons are useless. We need to take out that shield,” Anakin said, surveying their setup."Rex — "

"I think you'll want to see this first, Sir."

"Not now, Captain. I need you to form a — “

"General Skywalker." Rex didn't raise his voice, but the edge in it caught Anakin's attention. "You need to see this, and decide what our priorities are."

Anakin turned back to him, frowning as the captain stepped aside to reveal an astromech droid. “That’s not one of ours,” he said, scanning the black and gold unit. He knew the droids of the 501st better even than he knew most of the soldiers.

“Came across it about four klicks northeast of here.” Rex kicked at it gently, his blaster still pointed vaguely in its direction. “Play your message, droid.”

The hologram flickered to life, and Anakin watched the young Togruta introduce herself, making note of the sabers at her waist. “If the Jedi are anywhere near as compassionate as you claim to be, please, contact me with this R3 unit,” the girl finished, head forward defiantly, chin tilted up. Anakin liked her already.

He had the droid replay the message two more times, absorbing as much as he could. It didn’t escape his notice how she referred to _my master and I_ , but then spoke only in the first person, and he could tell that the only other Force-users nearby were Ventress and this apprentice, Barrage. Whomever her master was, they weren’t with her.

Rex waited patiently, keep a careful eye on the energy shield in the distance. “Think it could be a trap?”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Anakin said, finally looking back at the enemy lines. “I can sense her Force signature. She seems afraid.”

“Orders, sir?”

The R3 unit spun in a circle, beeping, but Anakin shook his head. “We can’t contact her, not with the comms down. I’m going to take out that shield, and then try to find her before Ventress does. Let your men know not to shoot if they see her.”

“Yes sir.”

“You’re in charge while I bring down the shield,” Anakin said, turning back to the holomap. “I hate to do any more damage to the city, but you might want to have the cannons fire on the buildings, so the debris will build up and block their path. Stall as long as you can.”

“It’s a shame General Jinn isn’t here, sir. Stalling seems to be his specialty.”

“You’ve got this, Rex.” Anakin scanned the map one last time, a plan coming together for getting under the shield. _Let’s just hope I can get the generator down in time, otherwise there’ll be no escape for any of us._

* * *

 Hiding under the crate was a bit embarrassing – for the droids, at least. Anakin couldn’t help but roll his eyes as the clankers plodded past, not even questioning the obvious ploy. If he were to design a droid army, he’d program in a lot more independent thinking capacity – not that it would replace the real deal. However uneasy the cloning process made him, he couldn’t deny that the troops were unparalleled in their efficiency.

The mechanic clanging of the battle droids began to fade as the last wave passed over him, and he pushed the crate away, turning to watch the chaos behind him. A series of explosions lit up the buildings on either side of the street, and pieces of the crystal structures cracked and dropped, halting the Separatists’ march. _Attaboy, Rex._

He ran into a couple droidekas on the way to the shield, but apart from that there was no problem. The generator itself stood upon a raised platform, cracks in the crystal etching across the space. He started forward, keeping one eye out for any movement – only for a retail droid’s cylindrical head to come rolling around the other end of the platform.

“Are you kriffing – “

A dozen or so of the droids burst out of the cracks, the mechanical creaking drowning out the sound of Anakin’s lightsaber igniting. He eyed the generator, wondering if he could jump over the droids and set the charges, but he decided against it – didn’t have the higher ground – and set to work taking out the droids.

He’d only disposed of one when he heard the sound of another lightsaber being ignited, and one of the droids went flying off the platform. It took a second for his mind to catch up – Ventress was his first thought – but another bot fell and he caught a glimpse of her, shorter and a bit sturdier than his rival, and it clicked. _The apprentice._

Barrage was skilled with a lightsaber, he had to admit, but her youth showed as she brought down another droid, her movements unpolished and uncertain. Another few of the retail droids were activated as she swept one away with the Force, and he swallowed down the frustration he felt anytime he had to work with a Padawan.

Some part of his rational mind was trying to remind him _she’s a Sith, she’s a darksider, don’t trust her_ , but he made eye contact with the girl and tossed her the charges. “I’ll handle the droids, just set those,” he shouted, drawing his saber up in an arc to cut another one down. She nodded, ducking out of the fight and scrambling up to the generator.

He didn’t bother counting how many he’d taken down, but it felt like forever before he heard the apprentice shout, “Jedi, don’t move!”

“What?” He looked up, saw how she stood with her palms outstretched, and it clicked. “No, no no no no – “

The wall behind him came crashing down, smashing the remaining droids in an instant, and when he opened his eyes he found himself crouched in a conveniently-placed hole in the stone. Barrage jumped down from the generator, a wide grin on her face, though it faltered as she saw the look on his.

“You could’ve gotten me killed!”

“I know what I’m doing,” she said, chin tilted up defensively.

“I had everything under control.”

“I just saved your life!”

Anakin grunted, brushing dust off the band on his wrist, and hit the detonator.

The charges blew, and the fading buzz as the shield disintegrated was music to his ears. “About time,” he muttered, watching as the GAR’s cannons fired in the distance. He turned to the disgruntled Togrutan beside him, taking in the twin sabers at her waist. “You’re the Apprentice?”

“You’re the Jedi,” she shot back. “Did you find my droid?”

“Yeah, we got your message. Comms went down a while back, I was gonna come find you once I took care of the shield generator.” He frowned, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why were you even here?”

“Well, you’re welcome,” she said, jumping down from the generator platform.

“Hey – I didn’t thank you! Where are you going?”

She turned around, giving him a look that would be terrifying on anyone else, but she was barely up to his shoulder and a bit of a mess. “We have to get back to your base, don’t we?”

“Who says I’m taking you with me?”

The look she gave him was frighteningly similar to one his old master used to give, and he cursed internally. _Right, I said_. “Just don’t get in my way,” he muttered, starting down the avenue to where the droids were being decimated.

As the girl followed, Anakin stretched out his senses. He couldn’t detect Ventress’ presence anymore, which worried him. This apprentice could be part of a trap.

“I’m not lying to you.”

Anakin raised an eyebrow, watching the girl. She met his eyes briefly, sullenly, and said, “I can feel that you don’t trust me.”

“Well, you can understand why.”

She shrugged, looking away.

“What about your master? You said both of you escaped.”

That earned another brooding silence, and Anakin sighed, lifting his gaze back to the road ahead. It was going to be a long day.


End file.
